Marlynn Jayme Schotland with her family
photo courtesy of Amy McMullen Photography

Marlynn Jayme Schotland, founder and owner of Mamapreneurs Inc.com and Urban Bliss Design.com has met the business world head on in Portland, Oregon. When building her design & PR business, Urban Bliss Design in 2005, she saw a need for Moms like herself to have a place they could meet online and in person to talk, share resources, advice and just to network with each other – and Mamapreneurs was born. Now she is doing what she loves and helping others do the same.

Starting up a new business took her own money and it wasn’t until she moved out of her home office and into an office/studio that she needed a bank loan. With her business growing, Marlynn struggled with growth issues, membership details, and a way to handle them efficiently and effectively. She went from the tedious self-management of her website to a life-giving and life-saving hosting group called Wild Apricot.com, where she was able to rejuvenate the site, the membership registration and tracking system, and the schedule of events and trade shows with an easy-to-use site management tool. Feeling free, she now is able to concentrate on the mission of the organization instead of micro-managing every little detail.

Now she is looking at more growth – internationally – so she faces a new challenge. But, she seems to thrive on them and she thrives on the satisfaction she gets from helping others to succeed and to find harmony, as well as from the success of Mamapreneurs in the lives and businesses of the Moms. She has truly enjoyed watching Mamapreneurs grow, in numbers and in the depth of their connections. She says, “I get to do what I love, involve my family, and meet amazing women all over the world who have such incredible ideas, great strength and passion, and are committed to using their businesses to build stronger communities too.” This fits right in with what she says is a “little-known fact” about the business – “Mamapreneurs is kind of like the Mafia. We help each other by doing business with one another, we’re extremely loyal to one another, and we have a secret handshake.” (Just kidding about the handshake!)

Marlynn is well-equipped to be in charge of these two enterprises with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, more than 12 years’ experience in broadcast journalism, media relations, community relations, publications, event planning and promotions, graphic and web design, writing and editing, and organizational management. In addition to owning and operating Mamapreneurs, Inc. and Urban Bliss Design, she is the Founder/Editor of http://www.MamaLit.com, a book review site, a blogger for OregonLive.com and Working Mother Media, as well as 3 personal blogs and one design blog for Urban Bliss Design. She is a freelance writer with credits in Cookie magazine, NW Kids magazine, Colors of Influence, NW Women’s Journal and she recently wrote a guest post for the Martha Stewart Everyday food blog.

Marlynn has a “web genius” husband, two children (a 4.5 year-old son and a 1.5 year-old daughter) and a lovable Labrador Retriever. They all live together in beautiful Portland, Oregon. Her children go with her to work on Mondays and Fridays – then on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays her son is in pre-school. Her daughter, Cate, is with the nanny on Tuesdays while she works in the office from 10 am until about 3:30 pm. She also works after they go to bed, from about 9 pm until midnight or 2 am as well as several hours over the weekend. So, she says, when she’s not working – although it’s hard to figure out when that is – she enjoys kick-boxing, running, interior design, t-shirt design, cooking and baking, and all things social media (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin).

Marlynn is an extraordinary woman, using her talents, education, and experience to carve a place for herself and her passions in the world of design, public relations, and social connections. She has faced many obstacles while starting up her business, but, with determination and hard work, she has created two quite distinct business enterprises and found a way to link them to the benefit of her own business and the efforts of countless other women like herself. Hats off to you, Marlynn!